Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


                       US Imposes Penalties on MS-13 Gang

   by VOA News

   The U.S. government has stepped up its crackdown on Mara Salvatrucha, a
   violent gang with roots in El Salvador that has been increasing its
   presence in the United States.
   The Treasury Department announced Thursday it had branded the group as
   a transnational criminal organization, a designation that allows the
   government to block any assets the gang has in the United States and
   prohibit U.S. citizens from conducting business with the group.
   Treasury officials say the gang, known as MS-13, has about 30,000
   members, including 8,000 in the United States.  In addition to El
   Salvador, the group has a significant presence in Guatemala, Honduras
   and Mexico.
   In a statement, Treasury Under Secretary David Cohen said MS-13 has
   been linked to murders, racketeering, drug and human trafficking in the
   U.S., and that its violent attacks on rival gang members often injure
   innocent bystanders.
   Marymount University criminal justice professor Cynthia O'Donnell has
   published research on MS-13.  She tells VOA the group is intentionally
   violent.
   "One of the reasons that they are violent has to do with what they are
   trying to accomplish, and that is simply the reputation for that," said
   O'Donnell. "They want to be known as the biggest, the baddest, the
   meanest.  And so they, of course, commit the acts that endorse that."
   The Treasury Department says MS-13 now operates in more than 40 U.S.
   states and the District of Columbia.
   O'Donnell says one reason the group has been able to get such a strong
   foothold in the U.S. is that it is so mobile.
   "When the heat turns up in one area, so to speak, they move to another
   area," O'Donnell said.
   The U.S. has taken similar action against other violent groups,
   including the Yakuza, a Japanese organized crime group, and the
   Mexico-based Zetas drug cartel.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-drugs-ms-13-gang/1525033.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-drugs-ms-13-gang/1525033.html